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HR Retention Radar

Predict attrition risk, diagnose causes, and retain your best people. Losing a great employee costs 1.5-2x their annual salary. This skill helps you spot flight risks early and build a retention system that keeps top talent engaged.

Philosophy

Retention is not about ping-pong tables and free snacks. It's about consistently meeting core human needs at work: growth, impact, belonging, fairness, and autonomy.

The model:

1. Listen — Systematic pulse-checking and signal detection
2. Diagnose — Identify root causes of disengagement
3. Intervene — Targeted actions for at-risk individuals
4. Systematize — Build org-wide retention infrastructure
5. Measure — Track leading indicators, not just exit interviews

Input Required

• Employee tenure and role history
• Recent performance review data
• Manager relationship quality
• Compensation relative to market
• Team dynamics and project satisfaction
• Any known concerns or complaints

Workflow

Phase 1: Flight Risk Detection

Score each team member quarterly:

Retention Risk Scorecard (rate 1-5, 5 = highest risk):

Signals to watch:
□ Declining engagement in meetings and Slack
□ Reduced voluntary contributions (no more "extra" effort)
□ Stopped asking for feedback or growth opportunities
□ Increased PTO usage or pattern of Monday/Friday absences
□ Updated LinkedIn profile or increased LinkedIn activity
□ Stopped referring friends for open roles
□ Expresses frustration about same issue repeatedly
□ Reduced participation in optional team activities
□ Started working more specific hours (quiet quitting signal)
□ Manager relationship has deteriorated
□ Compensation below market for their level
□ No promotion or title change in 18+ months
□ Team or manager change in last 6 months
□ Company-wide layoffs or restructuring affecting morale

Risk levels:
0-5 signals: Low risk — maintain and develop
6-10 signals: Medium risk — proactive intervention needed
11+ signals: High risk — immediate conversation required

Special attention:
- Top performers (loss impact is 3-5x higher)
- Recent hires in first 6 months (highest attrition window)
- People in salary bands for 12+ months without promotion
- Anyone reporting to a new or struggling manager

Phase 2: Stay Interview Framework

Don't wait for exit interviews. Conduct stay interviews quarterly.

Stay Interview Questions (30 minutes, private 1:1):

1. "What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?"
   → Identifies what's working (protect this)

2. "What are you learning here?"
   → Growth signal — stagnation is the #1 attrition driver

3. "Why do you stay at [Company]?"
   → Reveals retention anchors (what they'd miss)

4. "When was the last time you thought about leaving?
    What triggered it?"
   → Identifies specific pain points

5. "What would make your job more satisfying?"
   → Actionable improvement areas

6. "How would you describe your relationship with your manager?"
   → Manager quality is the #1 retention factor

7. "Do you feel your compensation is fair for your role
    and contributions?"
   → Perceived fairness matters more than absolute amount

8. "What could we do to make your experience here better?"
   → Open-ended catch-all for unknown issues

9. "Would you recommend [Company] as a place to work?
    Why or why not?"
   → Net Promoter Score for employment

10. "Is there anything else you want to share?"
    → Space for the unspoken

Rules:
- Manager does NOT conduct stay interviews for their own team
- HR or skip-level manager conducts them
- Responses are confidential, themes are aggregated
- Action items are created and tracked
- Follow up on action items within 30 days

Phase 3: Root Cause Diagnosis

When attrition risk is identified, diagnose the cause:

Category 1: Manager Issues (most common)
Symptoms: Skip-level complaints, team-wide disengagement,
          one person leaving triggers others
Root causes:
- Micromanagement or lack of autonomy
- Unclear expectations or shifting goals
- Poor feedback (none, or only negative)
- Favoritism or unfair treatment
- Manager lacks technical credibility

Fixes:
- Manager coaching or training
- Team transfer (easier than changing the manager)
- 360 review for the manager
- Skip-level check-ins increased

Category 2: Growth Stagnation
Symptoms: "I'm bored", no new skills, same tasks repeated,
          declining enthusiasm
Root causes:
- No clear growth path
- Role too narrow or repetitive
- No mentorship or learning opportunities
- Promotions blocked by tenure politics

Fixes:
- Define explicit growth plan with milestones
- Rotate to new projects or team
- Fund conference/course attendance
- Create stretch assignments
- If promotion isn't possible, be honest about timeline

Category 3: Compensation Disconnect
Symptoms: "I know what the market pays", counter-offers discussed,
          below-market for level
Root causes:
- Salary bands haven't kept up with market
- New hires brought in above existing team (compression)
- No transparency in comp philosophy

Fixes:
- Market adjustment (proactive, not reactive to an offer)
- Equity refresh or bonus to bridge gap
- Transparent comp philosophy and bands
- Annual market benchmarking

Category 4: Burnout
Symptoms: Declining output, cynicism, health issues,
          withdrawal from team
Root causes:
- Chronic overwork (understaffed team)
- On-call burden disproportionate
- Toxic urgency culture
- No recovery time after crunch periods

Fixes:
- Mandatory PTO (minimum 2 weeks continuous)
- Redistribute workload
- Add headcount
- Fix on-call rotation
- Address systemic causes (not just symptoms)

Category 5: Culture Misalignment
Symptoms: Disagreement with decisions, values disconnect,
          feeling like an outsider
Root causes:
- Company direction changed from what they signed up for
- Team culture shifted (new leadership, merger, etc.)
- Lack of inclusion or belonging

Fixes:
- Honest conversation about company direction
- Find sub-community where they belong
- Address inclusion issues systemically
- Sometimes the fit just isn't right — that's okay

Phase 4: Retention Playbooks

Targeted retention strategies by risk type:

For Top Performers at Risk:
1. Immediate conversation — acknowledge their value
2. Identify specific friction points
3. Create a personalized retention plan:
   - Comp adjustment or equity refresh
   - New project ownership or scope expansion
   - Title or level adjustment if warranted
   - Manager change if needed
4. Set 30-day follow-up
5. If they have an external offer: counter-offer strategically
   (but recognize this may only buy 6-12 months)

For New Hires at Risk (first 6 months):
1. Onboarding quality check — what was missed?
2. Manager relationship assessment
3. Expectations vs. reality gap analysis
4. Assign a stronger mentor or buddy
5. Adjust role scope if mismatch
6. Quick wins — give them something to own and ship

For Tenured Employees at Risk:
1. Recognition audit — when were they last recognized?
2. Growth path check — is there a clear next step?
3. Compensation benchmarking against current market
4. Consider new challenge: different team, product, or role
5. Leadership opportunity: mentoring, tech leadership, management

For Team-Wide Disengagement:
1. Anonymous survey to identify systemic issues
2. All-hands with honest Q&A (leadership must be present)
3. Address top 3 concerns publicly with timelines
4. Manager assessment — is the manager the cause?
5. Team rebuilding activities (not forced fun — real collaboration)

Phase 5: Retention Infrastructure

Build systems that prevent attrition, not just react to it:

Compensation:
□ Annual market benchmarking for all roles
□ Transparent comp philosophy and bands
□ Proactive adjustments (don't wait for someone to get an offer)
□ Equity refresh grants for high performers

Growth:
□ Clear career ladders (IC and management tracks)
□ Individual development plans (reviewed quarterly)
□ Mentorship program (formal pairings, not just "find a mentor")
□ Learning budget ($2K-5K/year per employee)
□ Internal mobility program (easy team transfers)

Recognition:
□ Peer recognition system (Slack bot, weekly highlights)
□ Manager recognition training (most under-recognize)
□ Promotion process that's fair and transparent
□ Spot bonuses for exceptional work

Management Quality:
□ Manager training program (most people leave managers, not companies)
□ 360 reviews for all managers annually
□ Manager effectiveness scores in performance data
□ Skip-level 1:1s quarterly
□ New manager onboarding program

Culture:
□ Values lived, not just posted on walls
□ Psychological safety surveys (quarterly)
□ Inclusion metrics tracked and acted on
□ Work-life balance modeled by leadership
□ Flexible work arrangements

Exit Interview Framework

When someone does leave, make the exit interview count:

1. "What's the primary reason you're leaving?"
2. "Was there a specific event or moment that triggered your decision?"
3. "What could we have done differently to keep you?"
4. "How would you rate your manager on a scale of 1-10?"
5. "Did you feel you had clear opportunities for growth?"
6. "Did you feel fairly compensated?"
7. "Would you recommend [Company] to a friend?"
8. "What's the one thing you'd change about working here?"
9. "Is there anything you want to share that we haven't asked?"
10. "Would you consider returning in the future? Under what conditions?"

After the interview:
- Record themes in retention tracker
- Share aggregated themes with leadership quarterly
- Track themes over time (patterns > individual data points)
- Close the loop: act on themes, communicate actions

Integration with Other Skills

• hr-onboarding-commander: Onboarding quality affects 6-month retention
• hr-offer-architect: Comp benchmarking supports retention decisions
• hr-culture-architect: Culture health directly impacts retention
• hr-interview-designer: Better hiring reduces early attrition

Files

• memory/hr/retention-scorecard-[quarter].md — Quarterly risk scores
• memory/hr/stay-interview-[employee].md — Stay interview notes
• memory/hr/exit-interviews.md — Aggregated exit themes
• memory/hr/retention-actions.md — Active retention plans